Traction-elevator.



E. L. GALESR.

TRACTION ELEVATOR.

4 APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17, 1907.

l, 1 3,769. Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

4 SHEETSSHEBT 1.

llllllll E. L. GALE, SR. TRAGTION ELEVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17,-1907.

1,1 32,769. Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

E. L. GALE, SR. TRACTION ELEVATOR. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17, 1907.

Patented Mar. 23,1915.

4 SHEETS-*SHEET 3.

E. L; GALE, Sn.

TRACTION ELEVATOR.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 17, 1907.

Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

ERNEST L. GALE, SR., 01: YONKERS, NEW YORK. ASSIGNOR T OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

. TRACTION-ELEVATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

Application filed June 17, 1907. Serial No. 379,500.

transmitted to the hoisting cable through its engagement with a portion of the periphcry of a driving sheave or pulley as distinguished from the ordinary drum driven elevator in which the hoisting cable is attached to or wound about the-periphery oi a winding drum. One advantage of the direct drive type of elevator lies in its special adaptability to the long range of travel made necessary by the great heights of buildings at present being erected. As the hoisting cable merely passes from one side of the driving pulley to the other, any increase in the height of buildings and-consequent length of travel of the elevator car merely involves an increase in length of the hoisting cable, while with the drum driven elevator serious practical difficulties are encountered in attempts to provide drums of sufiicient capacity to wind and stow the long cables incident to elevators of great range of car travel.

Among the objectionable features met with in the practical operation of direct or sheave drive elevators is the slipping of the driving cables about the driving pulley with the attendant loss of traction and power.

; This is especially prevalent upon starting and stopping the elevator car. Various means have been proposed to overcome this slipping, among which might be mentioned the employment ofa magneticpulley or drivingshcave, but this latter is very wasteful of current and helps matters but little. Anotherdisadvantage which contributes to the unsuccessful operation of this type of elevator is the 'difllcultv of keeping a constant tension upon the driving cables whereby the car is liable to jump when stopping. Still another diiiiculty" in elevators of this sort arises in the excessive loss by friction, which is unavoidable when the weight of the total load is brought to bear upon the armature of the motor or other running parts connected therewith.

One object of myv invention is to overcome the objectionable features above enumerated 1n a simple, practical and efiicient manner.

Other objects will appear more fully hereinafter.

Generally speaking, my invention consists in having the combined weight of the loaded car and its counterbalance supported by the overhead sheaves, the driving means is thereby only required toovercome the unbalanced'load and a small amount of friction. In order to obtain the necessary friction to drive this unbalanced load without slipping, I use a wide flexible belt of leather or other suitable material kept under a uniform tension by means of a weight.

various ways in which mv invention may be applied to a traction or direct'drive elevator system, in which Figure 1 shows in elevation a direct drive elevator system with means for increasing the frictional contact of the driving belt and the driving pulley by increasing the arc of contact; also means for automatically keeping the tension-of said driving belt constant, except under certain conditions, when this tension is automatically released. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1";Fig. 3 shows a plurality of driving belts and means for adapting a high speed motor to the comparatively slow speed driving pulley. Fig. 4 is a side view of the ap' paratus shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 shows an overhead drive which is otherwise similar in many respects to the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 6 shows a modified arrangement of parts involving principles found in the constructions shown in Figs. 1 to ,4. Fig. 7 shows means for automatically keeping a constant tension on the driving belt; also ,manually operated means for varying the position ofthe driving motor.

Similar, characters of reference denote similar parts throughout the different figures.

. Referring to an elevator car at the top of which are con ncted cables 3 which pass up over the overhead sheave f1 ipivoted'in suitable hearings mounted upon the overhead beams '2,

Figs. land 2, C designates I are connected to the frame of the counterweights 4: which latter together with the weights 12, are preferably of the same weight as. the combined weights of theelevator car and the average load carried thereon. M designates the hoisting motor which in the present instance is shown as an electric motor, but which may equally well be a steam, hydraulic, or other suitable prime 1a mover.

An eccentrically pivoted belt pulley 7 ;is pivoted upon a shaft 8 resting in a slot 9 in the lower portion of the counterweight frame 5. This slot has inclined sides 10, 10', is the purpose of which will be pointed out later. A stop pin 8 on the pulley 7 allows a small rotative movement of the latter, limited in extent by the sides of the slot :1. A roller 6 is carried by the frame 5 and has its center in a plane substantially horizontal with the center of the shaft 8 of the eccentric pulley 7. Fastened to the bottom of the elevator car G isa belt 11 which leads down and under a guidepulley 17 carried by bearings 19 supported on the bed 15. The belt 11 iscarried around a driving pulley 16 which is securely fastened to the shaft 21 of a motor M, and leads under a guide pulley 18 supported by bearings 20 and up over the eccentric pulley 7. The other end '01' this belt 11 is connected to a suitable tension.

weight 12 adapted to slide on vertical guides 13. A spring bufi'er lei is located directly underthe weight. 12. Since the weight of 3 the counterweightttogether with the weight 12 is substantially equal to the combined weights of the car andthe average load car ried thereon, the only power required to 1 move the elevator car in either direction is to overcome the friction and the unbalanced load. In order to cause the car to descend the motor is'ma'de to revolve in a counterclockwise direction, which will produce a downward'pull uponthe car (1 by means of the .belt 11, At the same time the belt 11 Twill be paid off on the other-side of the roller 6, constitute a take-up device for they belt 11. This arrangement of an eccentric pulley and a fixed pulley'or roller co-acting with the belt 11, allows the latter to be taken up on the side of the tension weight 12, but

50 does not allow the belt to pass inthe other direction, since any tendency todoso merely jams thebelt between-the peripheries'ot the pulleys Z and 6, "and'prevents it from being sleekened. The movement of the eccentric pulley 2' is limited by the stop-pin 8 moving in the slot 9,- and while this stop-pin allows a 1' the pulley 7 to rotate'ina' clockwise direction a sufiicient amount to release the belt jam and therebyenable the weight l2to slide the belt over the surface of the pulley 7a 7 and remove all slack, yet as soon as the motor produces a downward pull upon the counterweight lthrough the belt 11, the latter is at once jammed between the pulleys 7 and 6. lit is readily seen that this arrangement keeps a uniform tension upon the belt 11 and automatically takes up all slack. Tn the event of the car overrunning its upward limit of travel, the tension weight 12' hottoms on the butter 14 and it no longer exerts 8e a downward pull upon the belt 11, and since the motor is at this time exerting a down ward pull upon the counterweight 4, the shaft 8 of the eccentric pulley 7 will move up a short distance in the slot 9, and since the sidesot this slot are inclined, the pulley responding upward movement of the car.

This safet feature ll consider important since it e "ectually prevents the car from 08 being pulled up into the overhead work, in which event serious damage would be the inevitable result.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, I use a comparatively high speed motor connected by a shaft 21, worm 23 and worm wheel 24, to belt pulleys 22 and 22'. These belt pulleys are securely keyed or otherwise fastened to the worm wheel shaft and are revolved thereby. Between the belt pulleys 22 and 22 and loosely mounted' upon the same shaft,,is a'eable sheave 1 over which passes :1 cable 3 connected to the car C and counterweight 4, as in Figs. 1 and 2. Both belts ll and 11 are connected to the car by a bar 25 providedwith collars" to keep the belts in their proper positions. The tension weight 12 hasattached to it a similar bar 26 provided with collars to which the other ends of the belts 11 and 11' are connected. Motion is imparted to the car by means of the belts 11 and 11, which are positively driven by the motor and its connected mechanism, and the strain on these 'belts'is never more than that required to overcome the friction and the unbalanced load which may be very orate the elevator satisfactorily,

In Fig. 5 the motor is placed overhead and the driving pulley 16 drives the belt ll direct, thatis, without the intervention of a worm and worm wheel- The weight of the memes I car and counterbalance is supported by the cable 3 and the pulley 1. Another pulley 17 is loosely mounted on'the same shaft as the ulley 1 and is for the purpose of defleeting the belt 11 in such manner as to increase the arc of contact of the driving pulley 16 and the belt in order to increase the traction or i'riction between them. 18 designates a direction pulley over which the belt passes and leading down the hatchway is connected to the tension weight 12, as

shown.

In Fig. 6 I employ a fast running motor geared tothe driving pulley 22 by the usual worm 23 and worm wheel 24. In the construction shown in.- this figure, the counter- 31,31, to which is attached an upright 29,

' the upper portion of which is screw-threaded, containing a screw 30 having a .hand

wheel 28 by means of which the motor may be moved along the slide rails in a well known manner. The tension weight 12 slides on the counterweight guides 13 and is provided with an idler pulley 27 carried by the weight frame 12, the object of this arrangement being to keep a uniform tension on the driving belt 11. As the beltll gradually stretches when in constant use, the tension weight 12 will settle lower and lower until finally it will be necessary to bodily move'the motor to the right by means of the screw 30 and hand wheel 28, which will restore the tension weight 12 to its proper relative position.

It is readily seen that by using the arrangement of belts and cables, as shown, no slack is permitted in the cables above the car or counterweight, and therefore any tendency for the car or counterweight to jump upon stopping is-overcome. Another advantage of the arrangement shown is that a supplementary counterbalance for the cable is not required. It is well known that the wearing qualities of a leathe1'.belt are far superior to steel cables; also it is a very simple process to repair such a belt should the occasion arise; whereas, in the case of a steel cable repairs are made with a great deal of trouble, and the results are very unsatisfactory. And again, since the strain of the driving belt is only that necessary to overcome the unbalanced load and'friction, and this load may be so adjusted as to be very small, it isreadily seen that a belt arranged as shown will last indefinitely and retain its strength. Another greatadvantage of a belt over a cable is, that with the shown its adaptation to an elevator in various Ways, and while not limiting myself to such use, since it is equally well adapted to numerous other power-transmission uses, and also not limiting myself to the details of construction and arrangement of parts shown,-since various changes in such details might be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is z-'- 1. In an elevator, the combination of a. car, a rotatable driving element, a flexible member having a fixed connection at one end to the bottom of thecar, a weight connected to the free end of the flexible member for maintaining it under tension and in frictional engagement with the driving element, and means to remove said tension and allow the driving element to rotate independently of the flexible member when the elevator member therefor, a take-up device with 3.

which the flexible member engages, and

movable therewith, means for moving the flexible member relatively to the take-up device in one direction to take up slack in the flexible member, and means to prevent such relative movement in a reverse direction.

4. In an elevator, the combination with a car, of a counterweight, a cable unitin the car and counterweight, a flexible driving member having one end connected to the car and movable therewith, a take-up device carried by the counterweight and with which the flexible driving member engages, means to move the flexible member relatively to the take-up device in one direction,

and means to prevent such relative movement in a reverse direction.

5. In a take-up device, a frame having slots or openings, a rotatable member eccentrically journaled in said slots or openings,

a second rotatable element journ'aled in the frame in position to cooperate with the eccentrically journaled member, said eccentric member being movable in the slots to a position permitting rotation of the ECCGII? tric member.

6. lln an elevator, the combination with a car, of a counterweight, a cable uniting and supporting said parts, a flexible member connected to the counterweight and-having a tixed connection to the car, a tension weight operativelyconnected to the portion of the flexible member connected to the counterweight, the combined counterweight and tension weight acting as counterbalance for the weightof the car and its load, and a frictional driving device for the flexible member 7. in an elevator, the combination with a car, of a flexible driving member secured thereto, a Weight at the free end of said member and placing a tension thereon, a frictional driving device for said member, means for receiving and supporting said weight as the car nears its limit of travel, an

, anaemia additional flexible member forming with the car and said driving member an endless 100p, and means to prevent slack in the loop.

8. lln an elevator, the combination with car, of a flexible driving member having a fixed connection therewith, a weight carried thereby and placing tension thereon, a stop in the path of said weight, means for operating said flexible member, a cable forming with the car and said driving member an endless loop, and means to automatically take up or prevent slack in the loop.

two subscribing witnesses. I

ERNEST L. GALE, Sn,

Witnesses;

- ALFRED C. BECHET,

ERNEST L. GALE, Jr, 

